BELGRADE, Nov 21 (Hina) - Serbian Vice-Premier Zarko Korac told Novi Sad's daily "Gradjanski list" that Croatia was obstructing the normalisation of relations with Yugoslavia by setting conditions for the normalisation. Korac believes
that setting conditions for cooperation is possible, but not good. "I could also say - the fact that a small number of Serbs have returned to Croatia is an obstacle for talks with the Croatian minister (Tonino Picula), but I believe this is reason for talks with him." Korac criticised Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula for his statement given to Belgrade's news agency Beta that the Croatian government cannot cooperate with the Serbian government as long as it includes Momcilo Perisic who was sentenced to 20 years in prison inn proceedings held in Croatia for war crimes committed in Zadar in 1991. "Invading the personnel of a government leads to no long-term
BELGRADE, Nov 21 (Hina) - Serbian Vice-Premier Zarko Korac told
Novi Sad's daily "Gradjanski list" that Croatia was obstructing the
normalisation of relations with Yugoslavia by setting conditions
for the normalisation.
Korac believes that setting conditions for cooperation is
possible, but not good. "I could also say - the fact that a small
number of Serbs have returned to Croatia is an obstacle for talks
with the Croatian minister (Tonino Picula), but I believe this is
reason for talks with him."
Korac criticised Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula for his
statement given to Belgrade's news agency Beta that the Croatian
government cannot cooperate with the Serbian government as long as
it includes Momcilo Perisic who was sentenced to 20 years in prison
inn proceedings held in Croatia for war crimes committed in Zadar in
1991.
"Invading the personnel of a government leads to no long-term
solution to open issues. Of course, every government, including its
chief of diplomacy, has the right to political and public views, but
where our government staff is being set as a condition for
cooperation, I must say that the cooperation will not go a long
way," Korac said in his interview.
He also criticised the Croatian side for requests for apologies for
the war in Croatia, stressing that setting an apology as a condition
for cooperation "would postpone the normalisation of relations for
some time".
Korac stated that the cooperation in the region was still being
observed through a lens of the internal political situation and
points scored internally, "instead of through a vision of future
relations".
(hina) lml